The upcoming live-action adaptation of the Disney classic 'Beauty and the Beast' is one of the most highly-anticipated films in the near future, and most of it is due to the movie's lead star. Emma Watson, who is best remembered as the smart and determined Hermione Granger in the 'Harry Potter' film series, will play the equally smart and beautiful Belle.
And if seeing Emma Watson play a modern-day Disney Princess is not enough, the dashingly handsome and admittedly narcissistic Gaston will be portrayed by 'Dracula Untold' star Luke Evans.
The 36-year-old Welsh actor recently attended the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival to promote his new film 'High-Rise,' where he admitted to PopSugar that he is one of Emma Watson's biggest fans.
"She's wonderful," Evans said. "I love Emma, she's a wonderful woman."
So what is it about Emma Watson that Luke Evans loves so much?
"She encapsulates everything a Disney princess should be in a 21st century film about a Disney princess," he said. "She's a strong woman. She brings something to Belle that I wasn't expecting, and the scenes we have together are really special."
Emma Watson isn't the only thing Luke Evans adored about working on 'Beauty and the Beast.' In an interview with Collider, the 'Furious 7' star also revealed that the film will feature two new songs.
"I'm lucky enough to be one of the first people in the world to hear those two songs, which will become songs that children will sing, adults will sing, people in musicals will end up singing them at some point, they'll become audition piece, they will become part of this amazing legacy of a film we already have, a story that is so ingrained in our - in my childhood memory," Evans said.
"These two songs, they're beautiful, they complement everything so well, but they are incredibly unique and different," he continued. "And the thought and love that has gone into those two songs honor the work of the original so well. It will be a nice thing, especially for the fans, to hear these two new songs on top of what we already have."
'Beauty and the Beast' is scheduled for release on March 17, 2017.